Responses of Crop Water Use Efficiency to Climate Change and Agronomic Measures in the Semiarid Area of Northern China

It has long been concerned how crop water use efficiency (WUE) responds to climate change. Most of existing researches have emphasized the impact of single climate factor but have paid less attention to the effect of developed agronomic measures on crop WUE. Based on the long-term field observations/experiments data, we investigated the changing responses of crop WUE to climate variables (temperature and precipitation) and agronomic practices (fertilization and cropping patterns) in the semi-arid area of northern China (SAC) during two periods, 1983–1999 and 2000–2010 (drier and warmer). Our results suggest that crop WUE was an intrinsical system sensitive to climate change and agronomic measures. Crops tend to reach the maximum WUE (WUEmax) in warm-dry environment while reach the stable minimum WUE (WUEmin) in warm-wet environment, with a difference between WUEmax and WUEmin ranging from 29.0%-55.5%. Changes in temperature and precipitation in the past three decades jointly enhanced crop WUE by 8.1%-30.6%. Elevated fertilizer and rotation cropping would increase crop WUE by 5.6–11.0% and 19.5–92.9%, respectively. These results indicate crop has the resilience by adjusting WUE, which is not only able to respond to subsequent periods of favorable water balance but also to tolerate the drought stress, and reasonable agronomic practices could enhance this resilience. However, this capacity would break down under impact of climate changes and unconscionable agronomic practices (e.g. excessive N/P/K fertilizer or traditional continuous cropping). Based on the findings in this study, a conceptual crop WUE model is constructed to indicate the threshold of crop resilience, which could help the farmer develop appropriate strategies in adapting the adverse impacts of climate warming.     

一种新的RNA二级结构三维图形表示及其应用

本研究提出了一种新的RNA二级结构的图形表示方法,这种方法不同于以往的表示方式。根据所提出的RNA二级结构的图形表示,将对9种病毒的RNA二级结构进行图形表示,构建系统进化树,进行序列间相似性的比较和分析。根据最终结果,可以很清晰地发现,AVII与LRMV两种病毒是最为相似的,另外,较大的距离值出现在了APMV与ALMV;PDV与AVII中,这说明这几种RNA二级结构明显不相似。这一研究结果与前人相似性分析的结果是十分相似的,同时,所采取的方法更加简单易于区分观察且得到的结果又是十分可靠的,因此,这些更加证明了该方法是有效的。     

坡度对农田土壤动物群落结构及多样性的影响

为了研究坡度对土壤动物群落的影响,于2010年3月和9月分别对川中丘陵区坡度为5°、15°、25°的3种农田土壤动物进行了调查。共采集土壤动物11657只,隶属4门11纲21目,弹尾目、蜱螨目、颤蚓目和线虫为优势类群。土壤动物群落的类群数在3月随坡度增加无显著变化(P>0.05),9月则呈波动性上升(P<0.01)。群落密度在3月随坡度增加而显著下降(P<0.01),9月的变化趋势则相反(P<0.05)。群落多样性指数在3、9两月均随坡度增加呈显著波动性变化(P<0.05)。坡度对弹尾目、蜱螨目和线虫等主要类群的密度影响显著(P<0.05),并具季节差异。主成分分析(PCA)结果表明坡度对农田土壤动物的群落结构有明显影响,Sorenson和Morisita-Horn相似性系数进一步表明坡度在3月份主要影响土壤动物群落的类群组成,在9月主要影响优势类群的密度。研究结果表明坡度对土壤动物的群落结构、多样性及主要类群的密度有显著影响,并存在季节差异。     

The rs2233678 Polymorphism in PIN1 Promoter Region Reduced Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Published evidence suggests that the rs2233678 (−842 G>C) polymorphism in the PIN1 (peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans somerase NIMA-interacting 1) promoter region may be associated with cancer risk; however, the conclusion is still inconclusive.

Methods

We conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether −842 G>C polymorphism was associated with cancer risk. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to assess the strength of association. Genotype distribution data and adjusted ORs were collected to calculate the pooled ORs. Meta-regression was conducted to detect the source of heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated by Egger’s test and Begg’s test.

Results

A total of 11 eligible studies, including 9280 participants, were identified and analyzed. Overall, we found that carriers of the −842 C allele were associated with significantly decreased cancer risk (C vs. G, OR = 0.750, 95% CI: 0.639–0.880, P_{heterogeneity} = 0.014, estimated by genotype distribution data; CC+GC vs. GG, OR = 0.668, 95% CI: 0.594–0.751, P_{heterogeneity} = 0.638, estimated by adjusted ORs). No evidence of publication bias was observed. Meta-regression revealed that ethnicities (p = 0.021) and sample size (p = 0.02) but not sources of control (p = 0.069) were the source of heterogeneity.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the PIN1 rs2233678 (−842 G>C) polymorphism significantly reduces cancer risk.     

Association between genetic variants in glutathione peroxidase 1 gene and risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis

To examine the association between glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) gene Pro198Leu polymorphism with the development and progression of prostate cancer. A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all case-control studies of GPx1 polymorphisms and prostate cancer. Statistical analysis was performed with the software program Stata, version 11.0, and Review Manage, version 4.2. A total of 7 eligible studies relating the GPx1 polymorphism to the risk of prostate cancer were identified. The results indicated no significant association between GPx1 polymorphisms and prostate cancer susceptibility in the dominant model (random effects OR 0.75, 95 % CI 0.48-1.18), recessive model (random effects OR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.22-1.01) and co-dominant genetic model (random effects OR 0.72, 95 % CI 0.43-1.21). For the analysis of GPx1 polymorphism and progression of prostate cancer, no significant association were found in the dominant model (fixed effects OR 1.20, 95 % CI 0.95-1.52), recessive model (fixed effects OR 0.69, 95 % CI 0.48-1.00) and co-dominant genetic model (fixed effects OR 0.95, 95 % CI 0.79-1.15). Egger's test showed that publication bias was not present in all the comparisons.     

Design,synthesis and biological activity evaluation of novel 2,6-difluorobenzamide derivatives through FtsZ inhibition

Novel series of 3-substituted 2,6-difluorobenzamide derivatives as FtsZ inhibitors were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against various phenotype of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and their cell division inhibitory activity against three representative strains. As a result, 3-chloroalkoxy derivative 7, 3-bromoalkoxy derivative 12 and 3-alkyloxy derivative 17 were found to exhibit the best antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis with MICs of 0.25–1 μg/mL, and good activity (MIC < 10 μg/mL) against both susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, all the three compounds displayed potent cell division inhibitory activity with MIC values of below 1 μg/mL against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus.     

植物Ⅲ型聚酮合酶基因家族的分子进化分析

Ⅲ型聚酮合酶(type Ⅲ polyketide synthase,PKSⅢ)广泛存在于细菌、真菌和植物中,目前数据库中已积累了大量的序列资料。为了进一步了解植物Ⅲ型聚酮合酶基因家族的分子进化,以及其作为系统进化研究材料的可能性,选取了75条来自不同植物物种包括苔藓类植物、蕨类植物、裸子植物、单子叶植物和双子叶植物的PKSⅢ蛋白序列,用CLUSTAL X软件对其氨基酸序列进行了比对,并用邻位相接法构建了系统进化树。结果表明,尽管不同来源的PKSⅢ序列表现了很大的差异,但保守结构域CHS-like所包含的主要功能位点半胱氨酸(Cys184)、苯丙氨酸残基(Phe236和Phe286)、组氨酸残基(His335)、天冬酰氨残基(Asn369)在各植物物种中具有很好的保守性;同时发现,在植物PKSⅢ序列中多数的Cys位点均具有较好的保守性,而且蕨类植物PKSⅢ和单子叶植物PKSⅢ在Cys保守位点有很好的相似性;进一步构建分子进化树表明,PKSⅢ基因基本上首先根据功能而聚类,明显地划分为CHSs和non-CHSs两类,其次按照不同的植物物种聚类。     

Engineering the Saccharomyces cerevisiae β-Oxidation Pathway to Increase Medium Chain Fatty Acid Production as Potential Biofuel

Fatty acid-derived biofuels and biochemicals can be produced in microbes using β-oxidation pathway engineering. In this study, the β-oxidation pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered to accumulate a higher ratio of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) when cells were grown on fatty acid-rich feedstock. For this purpose, the haploid deletion strain Δpox1 was obtained, in which the sole acyl-CoA oxidase encoded by POX1 was deleted. Next, the POX2 gene from Yarrowia lipolytica, which encodes an acyl-CoA oxidase with a preference for long chain acyl-CoAs, was expressed in the Δpox1 strain. The resulting Δpox1 [pox2+] strain exhibited a growth defect because the β-oxidation pathway was blocked in peroxisomes. To unblock the β-oxidation pathway, the gene CROT, which encodes carnitine O-octanoyltransferase, was expressed in the Δpox1 [pox2+] strain to transport the accumulated medium chain acyl-coAs out of the peroxisomes. The obtained Δpox1 [pox2+, crot+] strain grew at a normal rate. The effect of these genetic modifications on fatty acid accumulation and profile was investigated when the strains were grown on oleic acids-containing medium. It was determined that the engineered strains Δpox1 [pox2+] and Δpox1 [pox2+, crot+] had increased fatty acid accumulation and an increased ratio of MCFAs. Compared to the wild-type (WT) strain, the total fatty acid production of the strains Δpox1 [pox2+] and Δpox1 [pox2+, crot+] were increased 29.5% and 15.6%, respectively. The intracellular level of MCFAs in Δpox1 [pox2+] and Δpox1 [pox2+, crot+] increased 2.26- and 1.87-fold compared to the WT strain, respectively. In addition, MCFAs in the culture medium increased 3.29-fold and 3.34-fold compared to the WT strain. These results suggested that fatty acids with an increased MCFAs ratio accumulate in the engineered strains with a modified β-oxidation pathway. Our approach exhibits great potential for transforming low value fatty acid-rich feedstock into high value fatty acid-derived products.     

Upper limb kinematical analysis of an elite weight lifter in the squat snatch

The kinematical parameters such as translational acceleration and angular acceleration in the upper limb of a weightlifter may change regularly during different phases of squat snatch. This study aims to make this question clear. At first, the joint coordinate system (JCS) of human upper limb based on the anatomical landmarks is defined. Then a novel method for calculating the kinematical parameters was brought forward, which was based on analyzing the relative position of the JCS to world coordinate system during an instantaneous situation and the relationship among each JCS at different times during squat snatch. Motion capture system is used to gather the data of the upper limb in an elite weightlifter during squat snatch (the mass of the barbell is 20 kg) and the method mentioned before is applied to analyze the data. Finally, the law of the change of kinematical parameters in each phase of squat snatch is found.